


Dressing Up

by Joycee



Series: Traumatic [6]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Crossdressing, Gender Identity, Lingerie, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-18 00:07:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5890432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While he recuperates from his recent illness, Elizabeth helps Neal to explore his new fascination with feminine clothing and grooming. Peter is torn between undeniable sexual attraction and concern for Neal. Neal finally comes to understand the complex feelings that are behind his recent desire to change his image.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ELIZABETH

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to _Resting Up_
> 
> Each chapter in this story focuses on a different character: Elizabeth, Peter and Neal.

Neal lounges on the bed as Elizabeth sorts through his recent acquisitions of feminine clothing. He sighs, "I don't know why, but it started when I saw Mike Mason dressed as Missy Fairfeather during the Warhol case. I just keep thinking about it."

Elizabeth suggests, "Give me an idea of what you really want, Neal. Is this about you wanting to put on women's clothes to see what they feel like? Does the idea turn you on?"

"Hmm, well, it kind of turned me on to see Missy's male equipment under her feminine appearance. Seeing me in the negligee seemed to do that for Peter, too," he acknowledges.

"Have you talked to him about this?" Elizabeth wonders.

"No, not yet. Elizabeth, I am curious to see how the clothes feel, how it feels to look like a woman; but I don't wish I were a woman," muses Neal.

"So you are interested in the dramatic effect rather than the sexual identity issue?" Elizabeth tries to clarify.

"I guess I never thought a lot about it," admits Neal. "My sexuality is pretty fluid. I don't really consider myself straight or gay, or really even bisexual. When I'm attracted to someone, it's just not important which sex they are."

"Neal, you know gender and sexuality are two different things, and not necessarily connected," Elizabeth ventures tentatively.

"Don't worry. I don't want to wear women's clothing all the time," protests Neal.

"Okay, well, let's just see how you feel in your female clothing first. Then we can worry about your motives later. We'll need to think about hair, makeup, shaving, etc," Elizabeth begins.

"Whoa, whoa, did you just say shaving?" Neal interrupts. "If you mean anything other than my face, I'm not so sure about that."

"Okay, one step at a time then. Let's look at your pretty clothes together," Elizabeth offers.

Neal sheepishly picks up the lingerie first. "Um, I think these are nice to wear underneath. They're made for men, you know," Neal explains shyly.

Elizabeth admires the lacy lavender and satiny black undergarments. "Mmm, very nice. Having those on should put you in the right mood."

Neal hesitates, "Um, shall I go in the bathroom and put them on? I can go ahead and slip on the dress, too, but I'll probably need you to zip it for me."

Elizabeth giggles, "Oh come on, Neal. Let's pretend it's just us 'girls'. You don't have to be shy about dressing in front of me."

"Oh, okay. Well, then," Neal hesitates. "Elizabeth, maybe it would help if you were in your underwear, too. You know, just us 'girls'...."

"All right. It's okay with me," she smiles. She steps out of her shoes and slips her skirt and blouse off, leaving her in a pretty beige lace underwired bra and pink silk panties. Neal notices that she has a bikini wax.

Neal suppresses the tingling he feels in his cock and concentrates on stripping off his t-shirt and khakis and stepping into the lavender lace bikini cut one-piece he selected. It is tailored to accommodate a male organ.

Elizabeth takes a deep breath and fans herself. "God, that's hot, Neal! You look gorgeous in that!"

Neal blushes and responds, "Mmm, I may just have to start wearing these all the time!"

They both scrutinize him and come to the same conclusion. Neal puts it into words as Elizabeth nods, "It really would look better if I shaved my pubes."

"And legs," Elizabeth adds. "You don't have much hair on your chest or your belly."

Neal grins resolutely and tells her, "Wait here. I'll take care of it." As he heads for the bathroom, Elizabeth volunteers, "There is some really nice shaving lotion in the cabinet under the sink."

Elizabeth checks out the evening gown, skirt and blouse, and negligee that make up Neal's female wardrobe. She notices that he has chosen feminine and sexy outfits that are designed in such a way that they will flatter Neal's muscular chest, and disguise his lack of full breasts. She smiles and thinks she shouldn't be surprised that Neal's impeccable sense of style in fashion would carry over to feminine clothes, too.

Elizabeth wonders what's really going on with Neal. The other night, she came home and found him wrapped in Peter's naked arms in bed with the black satin camisole still on and the negligee, bikini pants and Peter's clothes strewn on the floor. She is used to Neal and Peter having a sexual relationship and she was turned on seeing them lying there together, with Peter looking so protective of vulnerable Neal.

She's always said that she wouldn't be okay with Peter having sex with another woman, but she realizes she wouldn't want him to have sex with any other man, either. It's just that Neal is, well, he's Neal. He's unique, and very special to both of him. It doesn't matter whether he's dressed in men's or women's clothing. He's gorgeous and hot either way, but he's still Neal.

Elizabeth decides to play along with his current fascination with dressing as a woman. They're having fun and Peter doesn't seem to mind. She knows how much injury and illness Neal has suffered through lately and she just wants to see him healthy and happy again. Maybe this will help take his mind off more serious things.

Neal comes out of the shower shaved slick and smelling of soap and lavender skin lotion. He's toweling off his hair and when he looks up, he is taken by surprise by Elizabeth's lustful stare.

She shakes her head and apologizes, "Forgive me, Neal. I forgot we were girlfriends for a minute there. You are such a beautiful thing."

Neal smiles shyly, "Thank you. So I've been told."

"Okay, let's see what we can do. Wrap that towel around your waist. Let me get some gel and the hair dryer. Your hair is lovely and I can style it to look more feminine. Then you won't have to bother with a wig," Elizabeth offers.

"Ooh, I love to be pampered and have someone else play with my hair," Neal enthuses.

"See? You are already in touch with your feminine side," smiles Elizabeth. When she finishes styling Neal's hair, they both admire her work.

She prompts, "Okay, which do you want to try first? We can save the make up for later."

Neal picks up the frilly long red chiffon gown and holds it up. "This?"

Elizabeth nods, "Sure, step into it and turn around. I'll zip it for you."

Neal does as he's told and when he turns around, Elizabeth gives him an appreciative smile. She fusses with the shoulders and adjusts the soft folds of material over his chest.

Neal heads for the full length mirror, but Elizabeth stops him, "Wait, sit back down and let me do your makeup first so you can get the full effect."

When she finishes, she leads him to the mirror and asks expectantly, "Well, what do you think."

Neal poses suggestively making sexy faces. He turns around and grins, "I think I look hot!"

Elizabeth laughs, "I do, too. Oh, wait. I picked up a pair of silver flip flop sandals that I think will fit you. You're tall enough without wearing high heels. Anyway, heels are hard to walk in when you're not used to them."

"Well, yeah, okay. I guess it would be hard to find some in my size, plus I can wear the sandals with everything," concedes Neal. "I didn't even think about shoes when I went shopping, or stockings either."

"I'd better give you a manicure and a pedicure, too," Elizabeth suggests. "Okay, let's get the dress off of you so you can try the skirt and blouse.

Just as she unzips Neal and he steps out of the dress, they hear Peter coming into the house downstairs. Elizabeth calls out, "Hey Hon, be down in a minute."

She presses a finger to her lips as she quickly puts her clothes back on. She hands the short black sharkskin skirt and silver lamé top to Neal and whispers, "Want to put these on and come downstairs?"

Neal looks unsure, but then he nods slowly and takes the clothes from her. He hears Peter greet Elizabeth with his usual loving kiss and, "Hi Hon." Neal listens to Elizabeth tease Peter, with suppressed giggles, "I have a little surprise for you."

Peter responds cautiously, "I hope it's a good surprise. Hey, where's Neal? Has he been behaving himself?"

Elizabeth laughs, "Oh, that's part of the surprise. I think it's good."

Neal tugs the tight short skirt on and pulls the silver lamé top carefully over his head, trying not to muss his hair. He arranges the draped neckline strategically over his chest. After checking the mirror, he decides the red lipstick and dark eyeliner that Elizabeth applied look just right. He slips on his silver sandals and walks to the top of the stairs.

Neal hesitates, suddenly feeling self conscious. He was comfortable as long as it was just Elizabeth with him, but now he isn't sure how Peter will react. He wonders what he is thinking himself, why he wants to do this.

He starts down the stairs. Elizabeth turns and smiles encouragingly at him. Peter glances up and then stares openmouthed and laughs. Neal turns around and rushes back up the stairs to his room and locks the door.


	2. PETER

Peter stares up the staircase where Neal just turned around and fled. He looks at Elizabeth helplessly, but his wife's face is full of reproach. He frowns and asks plaintively, "Can you please tell me what just happened here?"

"Oh Hon," Elizabeth smiles and takes his arm. "Neal was trying on the women's clothes he got at the thrift shop and I was helping him. We wanted to show you how nice he looked. Now, you've hurt his feelings."

"How was I supposed to know? asks Peter indignantly. "The last thing I expected to see was Neal coming downstairs all dolled up in a skirt."

Elizabeth pouts, "You seemed to think he was sexy enough the other night when he wore a negligee."

Peter puts his hands on his waist and sputters, "We were drunk. What do you even know about that? You weren't home. Did he tell you?"

"No. Sssh, Hon, he'll hear you," admonishes Elizabeth. "I peeked in the bedroom door and saw him sleeping in your arms. His negligee and panties were on the floor and so were your clothes. He had still had the camisole on. You two just looked very peaceful. It was sweet."

"You thought it was sweet? It didn't bother you?" Peter questions. "You didn't feel jealous or something?"

Elizabeth smiles and shakes her head, "Of course not. Actually, I thought it was pretty hot!"

Peter looks confused, not sure what to say next. He starts to pursue his conversation with Elizabeth and then glances up the stairs. He sighs, "I guess I'd better go up there, huh?"

Elizabeth nods, "I think you should. Be gentle with him, Hon. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but he seems fragile right now. He needs our love and our approval."

Peter looks at her pleadingly. "I'm no good at things like this. Maybe I should just go back out and you can talk to him."

Elizabeth gives him a little push toward the stairs, "Unh-uh. I'm not the one who laughed at him and hurt his feelings. Get up there and make it better."

Peter slowly climbs the stairs and knocks on the closed door to Neal's room. He tries the door and is annoyed to find it locked. He calls softly, "Neal? Hey Buddy, I want to talk to you. Open the door."

Neal responds with a muffled, "Why? Why do you want to talk to me, Peter? Are you going to laugh at me again?"

"No, absolutely not," promises Peter. "You just took me by surprise, that's all. I didn't know how to react. I shouldn't have laughed."

"Are you sorry?" Neal challenges tremulously.

Peter takes a deep breath and sighs, "Open the door and I'll apologize, okay?"

"Apologize first," Neal challenges truculently. Peter can hear El giggling downstairs.

He puts his face up close to the door and says quietly, "Okay, I'm sorry. Now open the door, Neal.

The door opens to reveal Neal stilled dressed in his tight skirt and silvery blouse with his hair a little messed and his lipstick slightly smeared. Peter holds him at arm's length and says, "Let me look at you."

Neal holds his breath as Peter nods seriously. Peter takes out his handkerchief and wipes off the errant lipstick. He smoothes Neal's hair and continues to look him over.

"Well, what do you think?" Neal asks anxiously. "How do I look? At least you're not laughing at me now."

Peter puts a hand under Neal's chin and pulls his face forward for a little kiss. He looks into Neal's eyes sincerely and asks softly, "What do you want me to think?"

"Well, that I look pretty? That I look sexy?" Neal tries. "Come on, how do I look? Ridiculous?"

"No, no, not ridiculous," Peter says quickly. "Not that. You do look pretty, and sexy, too. It's just that I'm confused. You're a gorgeous man, Neal. You know that. Why do you want to look like a woman?"

Neal looks down through his thickly mascaraed lashes, "Well, I'm not sure. I just do. It started with the Warhol case and Missy Fairfeather. You know, a number of Warhol's superstars were men who passed as females."

"Mmhmm, but they were entertainers," Peter says thoughtfully. "They also identified as women for their whole lives. They were basically transgendered."

Neal nods and Peter pauses, looking confused. "Do you feel more comfortable as a woman, Neal? Because this seems to be something new with you all of a sudden. Have you ever done this before?"

Neal laughs a little flirtatiously, "Well, I posed as a prostitute once for a con. That was kind of fun."

Peter swats at him, "You would think that, wouldn't you? I take it you didn't go through with the transaction, though." Peter looks troubled, "Or did you?"

"Of course not!" Neal denies petulantly. His blue eyes flash with resentment. "I've never taken money for sex. I'm surprised you would think that."

Peter suggests gently, "Neal, you seem so upset this afternoon. Do you think maybe you should take one of your Xanax to calm down?"

"If you think I should. Okay," Neal agrees hesitantly. He shakes out one little white pill from the prescription bottle on his nightstand and swallows it with a small drink of water. "Peter, you didn't laugh the other night when I came downstairs in my negligee. Why today?"

Peter nods, "Yeah, you looked so sweet and sexy. I guess I just didn't expect to see you in regular daytime women's attire. I don't know it's different. Like I said, I just didn't expect it. I don't know. I said I was sorry."

Neal goes over to Peter and presses himself into his arms. He lays his head on his chest and sighs, "I'm not sure why I want to do this, either, Peter, but I don't want you to laugh at me."

"I know, Buddy," Peter soothes, stroking Neal's back. He stops and pulls back and asks, "Hey, you're still my Buddy, aren't you? I mean you still want to be called Neal, don't you?"

"Of course, silly," Neal chuckles. He tries to explain, "Peter, I don't want to dress as a woman all the time. I don't want to be a woman. I just kind of want to see how it feels. Can you understand it at all?"

"I'm trying," Peter pleads. "Hey, I have an idea. Do you want me to take you out on a date as a woman? Do you want to go out in public and see how you feel?"

"Wow! Really?" Neal responds exuberantly. "I have a beautiful evening gown, if you'd like to take me to a nice restaurant."

Neal sways a little and Peter realizes the Xanax is kicking in. He smiles affectionately, "Of course, I will. How about this weekend? Now, can I see what you have on under that skirt and blouse?"

Neal delightedly strips down to his lavender lingerie and Peter gasps appreciatively. He pulls Neal into a tight embrace and murmurs into his neck, "Now that's very enticing, Buddy."

Neal giggles at that and pulls Peter down onto the bed. Peter thrills him by assuming a dominant position, growling, and kissing him aggressively.

Downstairs, Elizabeth smiles. Her boys are happy again. She's proud of Peter for being so understanding. Whatever is going on with Neal, she wants them both to be supportive for him and now she knows that Peter does, too.


	3. NEAL

Neal is groggy when he wakes up a few hours later. He smiles as he remembers Peter making love him to him exuberantly. He gets out of bed and yawns and stretches.

He glances at his skirt, blouse and lingerie discarded on the floor. He picks them up, smoothes them out and lays them over a chair. He gets out some comfortable sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt and slips them on.

He stops in the bathroom to comb his hair in his usual style and wash the makeup off his face. He smiles and heads downstairs where Peter and Elizabeth are sitting at their table, both absorbed in their own laptops.

Neal casually gives each of them a kiss and heads for the kitchen to get a bottle of beer. He brings one out for Peter too, and asks Elizabeth sweetly, "Can I get something for you?"

She smiles, "No, I'm good right now. Did you have a nice nap, Sweetie?"

Neal nods and looks a little embarrassed. He admits, "I'm feeling much better now."

Peter frowns, "I don't want to nag, but maybe you shouldn't drink beer since you took the Xanax earlier."

"Maybe not," Neal says agreeably, as he raises the bottle and takes a swig anyway. Then he grins, "You may have to carry me up to bed."

Elizabeth laughs and Peter grumbles, "You're too heavy to carry. You can just pass out on the couch."

Neal wanders over to him and runs his fingers through Peter's hair, teasing, "Aw, that's so cold. Don't you love me anymore?"

Elizabeth laughs as Peter grabs Neal around his waist from behind. He growls, "Can't you wait for our date Saturday night?"

Elizabeth coos, "Ooh, what date is that?"

Neal advises her, "Peter is going to take me out to a nice restaurant and I'm going to wear my evening gown. Want to come along?"

Elizabeth shakes her head, "No, two's company, three's a crowd. Anyway, I have to work."

"Some other time then," Neal concedes; then adds, "If Peter won't take you, I will."

"Hey, who said I won't take my beautiful wife out to dinner?" protests Peter.

"Like your beautiful boyfriend in his beautiful dress, you mean?" Neal challenges.

"You sure are in a great mood since your nap," comments Peter.

"You think it was the nap?" Neal leers suggestively.

Peter responds obliviously, "You think it was the Xanax?"

"I think I should be jealous," Elizabeth laughs. "Seriously, I'm going upstairs to finish my work in peace. I need to have this presentation ready in the morning."

Peter gets up and gives her a sweet kiss. "Okay, Hon, I'll be up in a little while."

Peter sits back down at his laptop and Neal perches on the table beside him. He asks, "What are you working on? Am I bothering you, too?"

Peter looks up with an indulgent smile. "No you're not bothering me. Do you need a little attention, Buddy?"

Neal nods, "Yeah. Do you think we could talk?"

"Sure. What about?" Peter asks casually.

"Well, I've been thinking about why I've been wanting to dress up as a woman," Neal begins.

"You really don't have to explain," interjects Peter. "I'm okay with it as long as you are."

"But I want to understand it," Neal persists. "I think it's a combination of things. First of all, there's something about dressing up that appeals to me as an artist, as I suspect it did for Andy Warhol."

"That's interesting," Peter agrees. "That might explain why the Warhol case triggered your interest."

"Yes, and the way Mike/Missy transformed from male to female intrigued me, too," Neal continues. "But there's something else. I think this experience of injury and illness that I've been going through has caused me to feel vulnerable."

"And you associate vulnerability with femininity?" guesses Peter. "That makes sense."

"And there's another thing," Neal adds. "You know I was raised by my mother and Ellen and I didn't have any strong males in my childhood. I remember they used to dress me up like a little girl sometimes."

"Hmm, maybe because you were so pretty," Peter contributes.

"The last thing is something that I hadn't thought about in a long time. When I was with Vincent, he used to like to dress as a woman sometimes. It was kind of a sexual fetish with him," Neal explains.

Peter shakes his head, "Whew, please spare me that picture. I'll never be able to get that out of my head."

They both fall silent for a little while and Peter returns his attention to his laptop. Neal finishes his beer and sighs, "I'm afraid you were right about the beer. If I don't go on upstairs, you might really have to carry me."

"Aw, why don't you lie down on the couch and rest? You can keep me company." Peter suggests.

"Even if I fall asleep?" laughs Neal.

"Sure. I just like having you nearby," Peter says sentimentally. "I'll even help you up the stairs later if you need it."

"Okay," Neal smiles and yawns and curls up on the couch.

Before he falls asleep, he calls, "Peter? Are you still going to take me out on Saturday night?"

Peter responds fondly, "Sure I am. Are you still going to wear your sexy evening gown?"

Neal nods happily, "Wait till you see it!"

**Author's Note:**

> To see black and lavender lace underwear for men:  
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mens-lingerie_us_56a92080e4b0f7179928d6e3
> 
>  
> 
> Neal, Peter and Elizabeth are characters that were created by Jeff Eastin for the White Collar series on USA TV.


End file.
